


i'm jealous, i'm overzealous

by anothermikaelson



Series: of wristrockets and skateboards [10]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, i'm doing a part two to this since ik people will want it, some angst but it's mostly fluff, this is like my fifth work on these two or something in a week god i'm not okay, welcome to part two of what i think about at 2am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27609293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anothermikaelson/pseuds/anothermikaelson
Summary: max apparently "got hot" over the summer, and catches the attention of more than just one guy.enter lucas and his overprotectiveness/jealousy. post season 3.--aka so much fluff you can't even see clearrated teen for language
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler (background), Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Series: of wristrockets and skateboards [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011171
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	i'm jealous, i'm overzealous

**Author's Note:**

> title from julia michaels's "issues"

It's the first day of high school. Max, who hasn't done a single thing in preparation for this "momentous occasion", doesn't even bother to put on something nice for her first day, just a yellow crop top and a pair of navy washed jean shorts that hit almost her mid-thigh. Not even bothering to brush out her hair, she grabs her pair of red sunglasses, puts it on the top of her head, takes her backpack, and heads out of her room, downstairs for breakfast. 

She doesn't even bother to sit down, just grabbing a bagel and her skateboard, leaving out the door to get to school in time. "Stupid high school, you have to be two miles further," she mutters under her breath. And the fact that her mom couldn't drive her to school because it wasn't convenient, with the high school being in the north side of Hawkins and her workplace in downtown Hawkins, pisses her off even more. 

Max is about halfway to school when a familiar voice calls out. "MadMax!!" She turns around, instantly feeling it in her thighs and legs after stopping. There's a silver car, with Lucas in the front seat, his head out the window, and his mom driving, but still waving to her. Lucas says something to his mom, and Mrs. Sinclair stops the car nearby. 

Knowing she can't exactly say hi and keep skateboarding, Max picks up her skateboard and walks over to them. "Stalker. Mrs. Sinclair." Lucas tries not to roll his eyes at the nickname. 

Mrs. Sinclair smiles at Max. "Do you need a ride?" 

Max smiles back. "Sure. My legs are killing me." She opens the door to the backseat, taking a seat behind Lucas, leaving her backpack and skateboard on the ground. Facing forward, she leans over to kiss Lucas on the cheek. "Morning." 

"Morning, Carrot Top. Put on your seat belt." 

Begrudgingly, Max puts on her seat belt, before realizing what Lucas said. "Did you just call me Carrot Top?" 

Mrs. Sinclair tries to keep a straight face as she continues driving. "Yeah...do you not like it?" 

"It sounds like a name for a doll. Like, a name a little kid would name her Cabbage Patch Kid." 

Lucas rubs the back of his neck. "So you don't like the name?" 

"Never call me that, ever again." 

"Okay, Maxi." Max blushes at the nickname he wasn't supposed to use that much, but she supposes it's grown on her.

They ride in silence for a few minutes, before Mrs. Sinclair pulls up at the high school. "Have a good day!" 

Max smiles. "Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Sinclair." 

"No problem, Max. And call me Ada. Do you need a ride tomorrow, too?" 

"That'd be great." 

"Alright, we'll pick you up at 8:15." She drives off, and Max's chest swells with happiness. Lucas's mom and Joyce have been almost like second moms to Max throughout her two years in Hawkins. 

Lucas puts his arm around Max. "You ready for high school?" 

Max grimaces. "No. But you'll still give me your history notes, right? I can't stand listening to teachers talk about dead people for an hour every day." 

"Of course, Carrot." 

"Yeah, no." Max and Lucas head into the school, finding their lockers, which are on opposite sides of the hallway. "I'll meet you at lunch?" Lucas silently remembers that they don't have any classes together until after lunch.

"Okay. I'll save you a seat. Just don't fall asleep in class, okay?" 

Max opens her locker. "It's English first period. I'm going to fall asleep, and that's a given." 

Lucas groans. "Fine. But if you get detention, I'm not going to ask Mom to wait for you." Max's heart jumps a little. He was going to have his mom drive her home as well? God, she was the luckiest girl in the world. 

"Okay, Stalker. I'll see you at lunch." The first bell rings overhead. 

"See you." Lucas quickly kisses her, giving her a peck on the lips. "Love you, MadMax." 

"Yeah, okay. Bye!" Max disappears into her first period class, dropping into a seat next to El and Dustin. "Keep me awake, guys." 

Dustin nods. "I'll slam my book closed really loud." 

"Why do we have to keep you awake?" El asks. 

Max speaks quietly. "Because English in the morning will guarantee you a free hour of sleep." El is still confused, so Max whispers to her, "English is really boring. It's just books and old words." 

"Oh," El nods. "Mike said it's the best class." 

"Boyfriends lie, El." Max smiles widely before opening her textbook. 

The teacher, Mr. Harrison, steps into the classroom. "Good morning, class. Today we're going to work in partners. I know it's the first day of school, which is why I've decided to pair you guys up and get to know each other through this project. Think of it as a social experiment." 

Dustin whispers to El what the assignment is, and El seems to shrink in her seat, not being very social. Max groans inwardly, knowing her social skills are limited to her friend circle, and the random kids at the arcade that try to beat her record at Dig Dug. 

Luckily, Dustin and El are partnered up together. Hopper must've said something in advance. However, Max is partnered up with some random guy named Justin Sanders, who is pretty nice. He doesn't exactly force her to talk, and he gives her space. They just do their work in silence, until Justin finds out that Max, too, is from California. 

"No way, you're from California too? I moved here three years ago from San Francisco. The weather really isn't too different, how about you?" 

Max looks up. "I moved from LA. Well, the LA area. I kind of miss the sun, but I like the snow." She thinks back to the first time Lucas took her ice skating on a frozen lake, and smiles. "I really like the snow." 

"Yeah? What about the beach? Do you miss that?" Justin finishes his paper. 

"Yeah. It's hard around here, with just no beach except the ones around the lakes. But those aren't real beaches." 

"Right? That's what I keep telling everyone here, but they don't believe me." 

The bell rings overhead, and they're dismissed. Max stands up, still talking to Justin. "God, all my friends think they've seen everything, but they haven't!" 

Justin nods. "I know, right? It's absolutely insane, how they think beaches are that simple." 

"You know what I really miss, though? Seagulls attacking you whenever you have food." 

"Weirdly, I miss that too." He smiles. "Well, I have math next, how about you?" 

"History, then PE." 

"I have PE third too. Maybe we'll see each other." 

"Okay. See you." Max sighs, and tries to look on the outlook of things. At least she only has two classes until lunch. Then she can see Lucas. That makes her smile to herself.

Meanwhile, Lucas notices as Max and Justin talk in the hallway, before Justin leaves to head to his next class. Lucas watches as Max smiles to herself. Suddenly insecure, he tries to remind himself that Max loves him, not some random guy she met today. But the guy she met is definitely more handsome, and he seems to have more in common with Max. The bell rings, and Lucas heads silently to English. 

He tries not to focus on the two pages of notes he had already taken in the small introduction to their history class, one page for him, and another one, with highlights, for Max. English is boring, with the teacher trying a "social experiment". He's partnered up with Mike, though, so they just whip through their assignments fast with barely any words exchanged, and he falls back in his chair, slumping forward. 

"Lucas...are you okay?" Mike taps his shoulder. 

"Fine." 

Mike laughs. "Bullshit. What's up, Lucas?" 

"I saw Max talking to some other guy. Then after he left she smiled to herself." 

"Seriously? You're pissed off over your girlfriend talking to another guy?" He shakes his head. "You're just like El." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Don't kill her, but El knocked Max off her skateboard once because she thought she was flirting with me." 

Lucas doesn't even crack a smile. "Oh." 

"Lucas, you'll be fine. I mean, sure, I heard some guys talking about how Max got hot over the summer or whatever, but you know Max would pretty much break the arms of anyone who tried to flirt with her." 

"Maybe. Thanks, Mike." The bell rings, and Lucas heads off to third period, art. 

**

Lucas is heading back to his locker when he sees Max, out of the corner of his eye, talking to Justin. He doesn't even bother to walk over and tell Justin to go leave his girlfriend alone, so he just opens his locker to get his lunch. A note falls out when he opens it, an orange post-it. 

_ Mike said El wants to eat outside today, so that's what we're doing. I guess Dustin and Will are going to be dragged along or left behind.  _

_ max ❤️️  _

__ He tries to smile at the heart Max leaves at the end of the note, and takes his lunch out, slamming his locker shut. Max is still talking to Justin, so Lucas decides to walk the long way to the grassy field outside. He finds Mike and El, with Dustin and Will just sitting down on the grass. 

Lucas plops down next to Will, and opens his lunch, finding three sandwiches. He then remembers that he had woken up at the break of dawn to make an extra sandwich for Max, knowing that her mom doesn't make the best food. He sighs, and picks up one of the sandwiches: turkey, lettuce, onions, and mustard, and bites into it, sulking. 

Next thing he knows, Max, as happy as she can get, puts her arms around his neck and pecks his cheek quickly. "Hey, baby." 

Lucas ignores the ooohing coming from everyone but El, who echoes, "Baby?". He tries to put on a smile. "Is that a new nickname for me, Carrot?" 

"If you call me Carrot one more time, I swear to God-" She sits down next to him. "Holy shit, I'm hungry. PE right before lunch is the best and the worst thing ever." 

Max throws her hair over her right shoulder, eyes sparkling. Lucas hands her his paper bag. "Here, you can have one." 

"Really?" She peers in. 

"Yeah, I made them this morning." 

Max smiles. "Aww, thanks." She takes a bite of the sandwich. "Wow, this is good." She turns to Lucas, whose expression is clearly not happy. "Are you okay?" Max asks, suddenly worried. 

Lucas fakes a smile. "Yeah, just tired." 

"You're lying. And friends don't lie." 

"Boyfriends lie," El says, putting on an indignant face. Max bursts out laughing, and so does everyone else. Somehow, Lucas finds himself smiling again. 

Then Max stands up, holding out her hand to Lucas. "Come on, let's talk." Lucas takes it, and they walk away from the party, and their oohing. 

Max lightly tugs Lucas away from her friends, to where there aren't too many people. "Okay, what's up with you?" 

Lucas almost flinches. "What do you mean?" 

"You know what I mean. You're a horrible liar." 

"I'm an amazing liar! What are you talking about?" 

"Remember two months ago when you tried to lie about shopping for Mike's nana?" Max raises an eyebrow. 

Lucas groans. "Fine, okay. I'm a horrible liar." 

"So why are you mad? And don't lie." Max softens. "I don't want to fight with you anymore, Lucas." At his name, Lucas gives in. Max only calls him by his real name when she's serious. 

"This is going to sound so stupid." 

"You are already stupid. Nothing can make you stupider." 

"You know that's not a word, but anyway...who was that guy you were talking to earlier? After first period and just before lunch." 

Max blinks. "He's a guy I met in English, Justin. He's from California, too. We were just talking about missing California...oh my God, are you _jealous_?" Lucas puts his hands on his face, nodding. "Aww, Stalker, he's just a friend. Or maybe not, I don't really know. But trust me, there's nothing going on between us. Okay?" Max lightly takes Lucas's hands. "Besides, it's the first day of school. I'm not going to be exactly as social as I am today, tomorrow. I'm just doing this facade. Besides, Justin is kinda annoying. He won't take a fucking hint. I keep trying to stray away from him, but he keeps talking to me. I mean, he's nice to talk to and all, but like, I need personal space, right?" 

"Do you want me to do something?" 

Max smiles. "I got this, don't worry." 

"Maxi, don't break his arm or anything, though, okay? I don't think Hop will let you off that easy." Lucas reaches out to touch Max's hair, but she swats his hand away.

"I promise I won't hurt him. And don't touch my hair. You already did it once without my permission." 

"Okay, okay. Jeez." Lucas looks at his watch. "The bell's going to ring in two minutes. We should head back." 

Max smiles. "Okay." She kisses him quickly before taking his hand and heading back to the party. 

They get back just in time for fifth period. 

**

Lucas is on his third lap for their mile run when he sees Max. Apparently the PE coach thinks that taking records of where you are when you start the school year is a good idea, especially for people who have just eaten lunch. 

Max, in all her redhead glory, is holding a camera. Lucas suddenly remembers that she's part of the yearbook staff, and has gotten the chance to take "first day" pictures. Groaning, he wishes he wasn't as sweaty as he is now, while Max flashes the camera his way and snaps a few pictures. 

God, Max loves her yearbook job. As a photographer, all she does is skip class to take pictures of people. Most of the time she uses it to check up on her friends. And the best part? She can just talk to her friends and pretend to be asking questions about the class. So it's easy for her to just slip in and out of classes. 

She watches as Lucas finishes his mile, just barely making it in seven minutes. Lucas has been working out all summer, so she's not surprised. He jogs over to her. "Hey, MadMax." 

"Hey. I have to take pictures of as many classes as I can, so I can't stay for long." She looks through the pictures she's taken, pocketing them as she goes along. "I like this one." Max holds up a candid picture of Lucas finishing his mile. "I'm keeping it." She puts it in her other pocket, to remember it. 

"That one is disgusting. I'm so sweaty in that one." 

Max smiles mischievously. "That's why I like it so much. Okay, I have to go. See you next period, Stalker." She jogs off to the building. 

Next period is math. Lucas really hates math, but it's Max's favorite subject, so he tries to stay awake. He gets to class before her, and snags two seats. Less than a minute later, Max walks in, dropping into the seat next to him, and putting her head on his shoulder. "I'm tired." 

"It's the first day of school. We're all tired, Max." She smiles, and taps her face a few times to keep herself awake. 

Math is fairly simple for the first day. They just take a progress test to see where their levels are at, and Lucas is relieved when he gets a decent score, 86 out of 100. Max, on the other hand, speeds through the test, pulling up a 98. After the test, they're allowed to talk quietly without distracting anyone else or talking about the test, so the two of them just talk about random topics. 

"Do you have any homework?" Lucas asks. 

"No. It's the first day. Why?" 

"I was thinking about going to the arcade after school. Dustin beat my Dig Dug score again, and I have to knock him back to third." 

"Okay. Do you have any money on you, though?" 

Lucas realizes he doesn't. "No. We can head to my place first, then get money and go."

"Alright. But it'll be just the two of us, right?" 

"Yeah, of course. Dustin has to catsit today, Will's going somewhere with Joyce, and well, Mike and El have their own things to do." The two of them hold back a laugh. 

Max nods. "Okay." The bell rings. "I have to go get my science books from my locker. Can you save me a seat?" 

"Got it. See you in a bit." They part ways at the door. 

Lucas heads into science, and sees that Justin is in the class, too. _How small is this school? Jeez._ He finds the only two adjacent seats left over, which happen to be right next to where Justin is sitting. He drops a book on the desk next to him to save it for Max, and pulls out the rest of his books. 

Max walks into class just before the bell rings, and Justin waves her over. Luckily, another student drops into the seat next to Justin, so he drops his hand. Max smiles at Lucas and drops into the seat next to him, which also happens to be across the aisle from Justin. Lucas inwardly groans, but Max subtly takes his hand, letting him relax. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Max sees Justin try to get her attention, so she drops her head onto Lucas's shoulder to let him _take a fucking hint_. He doesn't, apparently. She can't exactly do more, though. There are some PDA rules at school (most of which Mike and El don't exactly care about), and they don't want detention, even if it is alone time. 

And besides, Max doesn't want people to think of her as clingy. Even if they aren't wrong. 

Science has got to be the most boring class in the world, Lucas thinks. Their teacher, Mrs. Stone, has the most monotonous voice ever. She's just going over the syllabus for the year, and he doesn't know how he's going to last nine months in this class. As long as he's got Max, he should be good. 

Halfway through the class, Max slips a note to Lucas. _god he won't take a hint. he won't stop trying to make eye contact. and you know i hate eye contact._

Lucas writes back, _try to last half an hour, carrot._

 _I seriously hate that nickname. i can't call you anything with your hair color, don juan,_ Max scribbles back, her handwriting still somehow perfect. 

_fine, princess._ Lucas slips the note back to her, and watches as her face flushes bright red. 

Max sends the paper back. _that's better than carrot, at least._

_okay, princess._

_i'm rethinking of allowing that nickname._

Lucas reads it and smiles. _whatever, you still love me._

Max quickly reads it, and scribbles something quickly before cramming it into Lucas's hand and interlocking their fingers together to hold the note in, pretending to be taking notes as Stone walks by. Justin, however, notices, and snitches on them. 

Lucas tightens his grip on Max's hand, who squeezes back. Stone holds her hand out for the note, but Max and Lucas feign ignorance. Upon not being able to find it, Stone grunts and walks away. 

Sighing, Lucas unfolds the note. _don't give yourself the satisfaction. ❤️️_

He smiles to himself, pocketing the note. Slipping his hand back in Max's, he relaxes back in his seat, trying to ignore the daggers Justin is glaring over in his direction. 

Finally, the bell rings, and Max stands up. "Let's go." She picks up her books and her papers, throwing them into her notebook. Lucas does the same, and takes Max's hand as they walk out of the classroom. 

Max's locker is further to the door, so they stop by hers first. Lucas notices that she's stuck the PE picture in her locker. "Oh, God, Max, why couldn't you have stuck it somewhere else?" 

"Because I have enough pictures of you in my room, capiche?" 

Lucas rolls his eyes, laughing. Max slams her locker shut, and they head over to Lucas's locker, which is almost bare, other than his backpack and a few books. "I should get pictures of you. I barely have any, and most of them are in my room." 

"Yeah, no shit, baby." 

"Is that a new nickname too?" 

"I find it unfair that you get to call me more nicknames." 

Lucas shakes his head. "Nope, we have equal nicknames." 

"You call me Maxi, MadMax, and princess now. Meanwhile, I only call you Stalker and Don Juan." 

"Fine. I kinda like that nickname, even if it sounds a bit clingy." 

"Whatever. Your mom's here." 

"Oh, Justin's walking this way. Do something, Max." Lucas eyes Justin out of the corner of his eye. 

"Uh, okay." Max puts her arms around Lucas's neck, gets on her tiptoes--Lucas has grown really tall--and kisses him. She quickly kisses his cheek before getting back down. "He's gone now." 

Dustin walks by. "Son of a bitch, some of us are showing more PDA than Mike and El today." He grins. Max gives him the finger, and Dustin walks away, laughing. 

Lucas puts an arm around Max. "Alright, let's knock him back down to third." He closes his locker, and he and Max head off into the car. 

"How was your day?" Mrs. Sinclair asks, as Lucas lets Max get into the front seat, while he sits in the back. 

Max and Lucas share a glance in the rearview mirror. "Good. Hey, Mom, we don't have much homework, so we're going to head to the arcade after I get some money." 

"Alright. Are you going to try to beat Max again?" 

"Nope, just knocking Dustin back to third. But I'll try to take the first place spot." 

Max whips her head back around, glaring at him. "He's not going to take first place. Right, Stalker?" 

"Okay, jeez, princess." Max rolls her eyes at the nickname, while Mrs. Sinclair's eyebrow shoots up at the nickname. 

* * *

Later at the arcade, Lucas almost beats Max's score, but ends up distracted when Max jumps onto his back to kiss him again. "MAX!" He yells, frustrated. "I almost had it!" 

"Three thousand points shy, though." 

"God, I hate you, MadMax." 

"Love you too." 

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, i'm definitely making a part two (max being jealous). 
> 
> i love this prompt so much!
> 
> xoxo


End file.
